Electric bedside fitting



April 13, 1954 E. SAELEN 2,675,465

ELECTRIC BEDSIDE FITTING Filed Nov. 10, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR. 5R4 we 5/154 EN April 13, 1954 E. SAELEN ELECTRIC BEDSIDE FITTING Filed Nov. 10 1949 2 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR. [/el. lNGSAfZ EN.

4 TTORNEY Patented Apr. 13, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims priority, application Norway November 18, 1948 1 Claim.

This invention relates to electric fittings particularly intended for bedside use in hospitals, hotels and .similar institutions.

In hospitals and similar institutions one or more electric points are commonly provided near each bed for connecting up bedside lamps, night lights and the like to the mains, or to an auxiliary source of power in the event of a mains failure. In addition separate plug connections for electrical appliances such as heaters, vacuum cleaners and radio earphones may also be situated near each bed. The use of any or all of these appliances with their associated loose cables frequently hinders the work of the hospital staff and interferes with the comfort of the patients, while the positioning of the bedside lamp so that it shall give adequate light for the patient without blinding others is an additional problem.

The object of the invention is to overcome these disadvantages by providing an electric fitting which carries all the lamps, power points and where necessary or desirable, the switches for operating them and which is easily accessible to the patient.

According to the invention an electric fitting adapted to be suspended above a bed comprises a lamp shade pivotally mounted from a junction box and having electrical connectors with or without switch means thereon for the attachment and control of lamps and/or other electrical appliances supplied with current from the junction box.

One form of electric fitting according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the method of mounting the fitting over a bed.

Figure 2 is a plan view of part of Figure 1 showing alternative positions of the fitting.

Figure 2a is a perspective view partly in section to show details of structure of a modified form of fitting having telescoping arms to permit vertical and horizontal adjustments in length.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view through the lampshade.

Figure 4 is a rear elevation of the lamp shade.

Figure 5 is a circuit diagram showing the method of linking various electrical appliances, and

Figure 6 shows the electrical switch in two different positions.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings there is shown a bed 3 resting upon a floor 2 with its head adjacent to wall I.

- night lamp ll.

Mounted at a convenient height on the wall I is an electric junction box 5 supplied from both the high voltage mains and a low voltage power source. High voltage mains currentis used for lighting a reading and a reduced nightlight while the low voltage supply is used for illuminating a signalling light and emergency light and for operating a radio headphon or loudspeaker. An external plug socket 6 is provided 'for connection with additional electric apparatus such as a heater or vacuum cleaner.

A pair of tubular arms I and 8 are pivotally mounted in the junction box and each provided with two right angled bends, the shade 9 being pivotally attached to the overhanging ends of the tubes. The tubular arms '1 and 8 with the box 5 and the shade 9 form a parallel linkage which enables the lamp shade to be swung horizontally from one extreme position to the other without the lamp shade turning about its vertical axis so that its length is always substantially parallel with the wall as shown in Figure 2. This enables the lamp shade to be adjusted so that it is in a required position relative to the bed in which it does not annoy other patients. arms I and 8 may be made telescopic along part or the whole of their length so that the distance of the lamp shade above the bed and from the wall may be adjusted as shown at 1a and 8a in Fi 2a.

As shown in Figure 3 a lamp socket for an incandescent reading and examination lamp [0 is attached within the shade together with a further lamp socket for a smaller or reduced These two lamps are controlled by switches l2 and I3 respectively, these switches each being operated by a two position pull chain which is removable so that the switch can if desired be manipulated by hand. A pair of insulated conductors from these lamps are received within the tube 1 and extend into the junction box 5 where they are connected to the mains supply and the socket 6. The reading light and the reduced night light are thus controllable independently but for certain purposes both lamps may be controlled simultaneously by a single switch of a. suitable type so that one or either lamp may be lighted by one and the same switch.

On the opposite end in the inside of the lamp shade there is attached a lamp holder for a lamp M. This lamp is supplied with current from an accumulator and is normally only used when there is a failure of the mains supply. In such an emergency this lamp will usually be controlled The tubular by a master switch but a switch controlled from the bedstead will permit individual operation.

In the front of the lamp shade is a signal lamp I5 which is controlled by a switch I6 having the usual pull chain H. The lamp I5 is so placed that it may be observed from the interior of the shade in order that a patient lying in bed may also see whether the signal light is switched on or off. I

The signal system of which the lamp l5 and its switch form part may be of any suitable type used in hospitals as, for example, that described in my British patent specification No. 417,297 which includes a two way switch I8 and a warning lamp l9 common to all the signal lamps in a particular room.

On the rear side of the shade (Figure 4) there is fitted a socket 20 for a radio headphone 2| or loudspeaker which is controlled by a switch 22 operable with or without a pull chain. In the feed lines (Figure 5) .to the plug there are two small condensers 23. To operate the low voltage equipment consisting of the emergency light, signal system and radio headphone six insulated conductors are needed and these are received within the tube 8 and into the junction box.

If desiredthe junction box 5 may alternatively be clamped directly to the bed in such a manner as to be readily removable.

When the junction box is attached in this way the conductors from the lamp shade may be incorporated in one single heavy-armored cable ending in a multi-plug and corresponding socket in the wall, the fitting being in all other respects the same as previously described except that with the latter arrangement the plug 6 may be in the wall or in the box 5.

What I claim is:

A hospital electrical fixture adapted to be suspended over one end of a bed'into position to overhang the bed to provide a source of light and electrical energy for the occupant of the bed and to be movable at the will of the patient entirely clear of the bed but to a position from which it-is readily returnable to its initial position, which comprises, in combination, a junction box mountable upon a Wall and connectable to atleast one source of electrical current ineluding a source of low voltage current, a shade having a downwardly-directed open portion, support means connecting said shade with said junction box, said support means comprising a pair of parallel tubular arms having parallel vertical portions extending upwardly from said junction box and having parallel horizontal portions and parallel depending portions, said lastnamed portions being engaged with said shade, said vertical portions of said arms being rotatably connected to said junction box and said depending portions being rotatably connected to said shade to permit lateral movement of the shade along an arcuate path from one side of said junction box to the other in a horizontal plane above the bed, said shade being provided with a light transmitting area in its front portion, a signal lamp positioned adjacent one wall of said shade opposite said light transmitting area, whereby said signal lamp is visible both from without the shade and from below the shade, said signal lamp leaving the interior of said shade substantially clear for reception of a plurality of additional lights, anelectrical conductor connecting said signal lamp with said junction box and with said source of low voltage current, said electrical conductor passing through one of said tubular arms, and a switch on said shade for manually closing the circuit to said signal lamp;

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 22,037 Markel et a1. Feb. 24, 1942 560,338 Betts May 19, 1896 1,010,335 Williams Nov. 28, 1911 1,101,122 Day June 23, 1914 1,631,997 Benjamin June 14, 1927 2,131,708 Lesperance Sept. 27, 1938 2,197,946 Simpson Apr. 23, 1940 2,258,108 Calissi Oct. 7, 1941 2,299,008 De Lisle Oct. 13, 1942 2,395,178 Fiori Feb. 19, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 374,769 Germany Apr. 28, 1923 

